INTERNATIONAL LABOUR SPAIN:

MEANWHILE IN BARCELONA:

As a follow up to the information posted here on the eviction of the Catalan CGT from their offices at 16-18 Via Laietana in Barcelona....

Well, the eviction was successful, but on Monday, January 17, according to an article in the CGT's newspaper Rojo Y Negro, 200 members of the CGT occupied a disused courthouse a few doors away at 8-10 Via Laietana. The irony and indeed the humour wasn't lost on me. If memory serves me well (which it doesn't always) the area of Via Laientana was once a rather important thoroughfare, but it has fallen on increasingly hard times, and I suspect there is a surfeit of abandoned buildings in the area. I like the courthouse idea, and it's even more amusing that the CGT militants didn't have to travel very far to set up new digs. I viewed a video of the occupation from the CGT Catalunya, and I must say it is heartening to see a broad mixture of people of all age groups participating and not a single weird looking bugger amongst them. The photo above shows the occupiers posing at the doorway and on the balcony. In the video the people are singing a rousing chorus of 'A Las Barricadas', the semi-official Spanish anarchist "anthem".

The Catalan authorities, however, failed to share Molly's fine sense of humour and irony. Neither were they appreciative of the musical talent on display. After some argument the police entered the building to evict the occupiers. According to report cited above about a hundred people were charged with "usurpación y desobediencia". Not being familiar with Catalan law I am inclined to translate this as "trespassing and obstructing (the police)". The latter charge is unclear as I suspect just how much you have to obey a police order is as vague in Catalonia as it is in Canada. It might be more or less serious.

According to the report above and another report at the main website of the CGT there will be a meeting in Madrid tomorrow, January 20, where the Spanish Labour Ministry will once more be pressed to provide a definitive solution to the demands of the CGT for union premises. These are demands that have the historical right behind them of a return of union assets that were seized under the fascist Franco regime. Furthermore the Ministry promised as far back as November 30, 2007 (same article) that the demands of the CGT in Barcelona would be accommodated. It should be noted that the CGT had been in residence at 16-18 Via Laietana for 21 years at the time they were evicted.

Tomorrow's meeting will coincide with a number of demonstrations being held across Spain in a run up to the planned General Strike on January 27 in Catalonia, Navarra, Galicia and the Basque country. These are the areas of Spain where the CGT and other unions to the left of the socialist UGT and the communist CCOO feel they have enough support to make a decent showing. Demonstrations and meetings will be held in other parts of the country. A number of workers' assemblies such as that for Barcelona transit have already voiced their support for this new general strike. A cynic might suspect that the urgency in evicting the CGT from its premises in Barcelona at this time just might be a tiny bit connected to a certain nervousness on the part of both the government and the larger bureaucratic unions (UGT and CCOO). But of course one could never suspect the angels of the state and the "official leftists" of the unions of anything so underhanded. Could we ?????

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR SPAIN:

POLICE ENTER THE BUILDING OF THE CGT CATALUNYA:

As Molly reported previously on this blog the Catalan government has "awarded" complete possession of the central union building in Barcelona to the (more or less) "ex"-communist CCOO. Today police entered the building to enforce this order. Here is a report from the Spanish anarchist news service Kaos En la Red. Translation my own.

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Barcelona: The police enter the building of the CGT Catalunya
Ten agents of the mobile unit of the Catalan police after an afternoon of resistance by the Local Federation of Barcelona, have entered the confederal building (Via Laietana 18) for the cleaning company that the CCOO has hired to clear the hall, according to ministerial orders. The totally surreal situation was forced by the yellow union with the intention to remove the signs that the anarcho-syndicalist union had put up to protest the ministry's decision.

The agents, at the request of CCOO, have occupied the confederal building . Throughout the day there was surveillance by the Catalan police ; finally the peaceful refusal of the Barcelona Local Federation to let students into a course on first aid encouraging them to enter the door of CCOO number 16 to occupy the building's lobby, helmets and batons ready. Stronger police action took place around 7 pm.

This new attack on the anarcho-syndicalist union, which absolutely refuses to be evicted from their local buildings after the assignment by the Ministry of the building of Via Laietana (as in the times of vertical unions) ( ie under the Franco dictatorship - Molly )to the CCOO, is part of a wider conflict about providing space for carrying out trade union activity. The CGT on its part believes that the confederal building owned by the Ministry of Labour, should be distributed in a more fair and asked for floor 8.

With the conflict deliberately fanned by the Ministry of Labour designed to undermine the local CGT , expelled from the confederal without any compensation, the CGT has undertaken a non-violent resistance that has been retaliated to by the CCOO.

The conflict is expected to escalate as the Ministry of Labour with the help of the CCOO will tighten the rope to forcibly expel the CGT, after the denunciations of a few days earlier.

This situation is very serious especially with the attitude of the police than with the bravado that characterizes them, they think they can do what they please bypassing the current law, on police entry to public buildings.

No Pasaran.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR SPAIN:

STRONG BEGINNING FOR SPANISH GENERAL STRIKE IN BARCELONA:

The general strike in Spain began with the stroke of midnight in that part of the world, and preliminary reports from the anarchosyndicalist CGT seem to indicate a high turnout in those sectors where they have influence. The CGT strike info source site that Molly spoke about earlier has unfortunately crashed due to too high a volume of traffic. Updated information is, however, available from the CGT website and from that of their paper Rojo Y Negro from which the following report is taken.

Preliminary public opinion polls indicated a high degree of support for the goals of the strike but a generally dismal number of people who said they would take part in it ( anywhere from 9% to 20% ). This was coupled with a disbelief that the strike would change the government's plans and a high degree of dissatisfaction with the larger CCOO and UGT union federations who were seen as being half hearted in their efforts and under political (government) influence. Should the present strike repeat the pattern of that in early summer one can once more expect a large turnout amongst sectors influenced by the anarchosyndicalism of the CGT and Solidaridad Obrera and a poor turnout in most other places. The CGT has already begun the criticism of the majority unions, but whether this will result in a generalized radicalization of Spain's workers has yet to be seen.

Here's the story from the night shift in Barcelona. The Spanish original (and much more reportage) can be found at Roja Y Negro. The original article has numerous photos of the CGT pickets of the bus service on the night shift. The photo above is from this collection.

GSGSGSGSGS
Barcelona: successful general strike on the night shifts
CGT Barcelona 09/29/2010 00:28:11

Today at 22 hours the strike began on the night shift in companies with a strong presence CGT in Barcelona: Post Office , Renfe (Train ), Metro, etc., have largely supported the strike .

The following percentages were:
Post CTA : 100 %
Renfe : 100 % of the trains had to leave after 00 hours .
Metro Maintenance : 85 %


The CGT highly values this monitoring and as well as the support we have transmitted to the workers by our call to the general strike and the criticism of the CCOO and UGT for waiting so long to call the General Strike.

The CGT criticizes the minimum services enacted in several companies such as Natural Gas , Atento ( directory services ) ,and in the subway in Barcelona where two or three workers were forced to work where there should only be one worker and in this way a long list where the CGT believes that this infringes the right to strike and we have reported so many to the Labour Inspectorate , the Government and the court .

CALLS FROM THE CGT IN BARCELONA FOR THE GENERAL STRIKE WEDNESDAY 29- S

CONCENTRATION AT 12 HOURS IN SQUARE CATALUNYA / PORTAL DE L' ANGEL

RALLY TO 17 HOURS IN Jardinets with Diagonal ( route: Jardinets de Gracia / Diagonal / Via Laietana / Avda . Catedral)

CGT Barcelona

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT- SPAIN:

CONFERENCE ON SELF MANAGEMENT:

Self management refers to the libertarian socialist and anarchist idea that workplaces can and should be run democratically by the people working in them without managers of any other bosses. There have been numerous historical experiments using this idea. This coming April the Spanish CNT, along with others will be holding a conference on the history and principles of this idea. The details from the Anarchist Black Cat discussion board follow below.

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ALTERNATIVES TO CAPITALISM: SELF-MANAGEMENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Within the framework of the CNT-AIT centenary (1910-2010), a series of conferences brought together under the name of “Alternatives to Capitalism: Self-management in the spotlight” will take place in Barcelona (Spain). These conferences will be held throughout April 2010. The contents will be organized in three blocks of lectures: theoretical, historical and a broader one, based in more current experiences.

The theoretical block draws up a program of lectures on how the capitalist system works, focusing on the present moment of economic and social crisis. Anarcho-syndicalist proposals facing the crisis will also be debated. This theoretical perspective is completed with several papers which shall offer a wide vision of economic and social literature on the subject of socialism and libertarian-communism models.

The historical block tries to put forward two strong models that may serve as an alternative to the capitalist system. On the one hand, that of the anarchist collectivization during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), for which lectures will be included to explain how it worked in the different regions where it was implemented (Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Aragon, Castile, Andalusia). On the other hand, explanations will be offered on the Yugoslav co-management model (1950-1990) with the purpose of assessing this experience both in the light of a possible model for the development of impoverished countries and from the limits imposed on socialism by the five-year plan, the market and the One Party State, along with a strictly libertarian vision of the whole process.

With the present block we intend to gain an insight on different organizational experiences that fight against capitalism nowadays from a self management point of view. In this sense, the contribution of the CNT-AIT (labour and socioeconomic aspects) is included, as well as those of other specific anarchist organizations (socio-political aspect), of some models of cooperatives with a radical perspective (labour and socioeconomic management aspect) or of cultural and study centres (cultural aspect). Finally there’s place for initiatives linked to local and municipal fields, such as those of squat social centres and apartments, municipalism or local assemblies (local-political aspect). Finally, from a wider geographical, and in some cases, thematic point of view, live experiences from other places in the world will be debated, such as social movements in Latin America, Chiapas, Brazil (Landless Workers Movement, MST), Argentina (enterprises recovered by their workers), Venezuela and Greece.

More info:

http://www.autogestion2010.info/

Organizing:

CeNTenary (Barcelone) Comission

Collaborating:

Fundación Anselmo Lorenzo – FAL (http://www.cnt.es/fal)

Institute of Economic and Self-management Sciences – ICEA (http://iceautogestion.org/)Fundació d'Estudis Llibertaris i Anarcosindicalistes – FELLA (http://www.nodo50.org/fella) PROGRAM

Friday 9th April. Capitalist system: exploitation, conflict and destruction

-4 p.m. Introduction to the conferences. CNT Barcelona

-4.15 p.m. Where do we stand in the crisis? Miren Etxezarreta. Economist, lecturer at Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) for 35 years and member of the critic economic seminar TAIFA

-5.30 p.m. Capitalism today: crisis or downfall? Some thoughts. Toni Castells. Economist.

-6.45 p.m. Anarcho-syndicalist proposals in the face of the economic crisis. Gaspar Fuster. Economics teacher in Secondary Education and member of the Institute of Economic and Self-management Sciences (ICEA).

-8 p.m General debate and conclusions

Saturday 10th April – Morning. Studies on self-management and models on socialism and libertarian communism (I).

-10 a.m. Socialism and libertarian communism in economic thought until 1939. Lluís Rodríguez Algans. Economist and member of the Institute of Economic and Self-management Sciences (ICEA).

-11.15 a.m. Self-management, an up-to date debate: participative planning or re-conceptualization of the market. Endika Alabort Amundarain. Economics lecturer at Basque Country University (Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea) and member of the Institute of Economic and Self-management Sciences (ICEA).

-12.30 p.m. Institute of Economic and Self-management Sciences: study and technical support for widespread self-management. Members of the ICEA.

-1.45 p.m. General debate and conclusions

Saturday 10th April – Evening. Studies on self-management and models on socialism and libertarian communism (II).

-4 p.m.The economics of freedom: creating abundant lives for all (in English). Jon Bekken. Member of the editorial collective of Anarcho-syndicalist Review, former general secretary and treasurer of Industrial Workers of the World.

-5.15 p.m. Inclusive Democracy as a political project for a new libertarian synthesis: rationale, proposed social structure and transition (in English). Takis Fotopoulos. Political philosopher and ex-senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of North London (UK) where he taught Political Economy for over twenty years. He has been the editor of the theoretical journal Democracy & Nature, The International Journal of Inclusive Democracy since 1992 and founder of the Inclusive Democracy movement.

-6.30 p.m. Anarchist Planning for Twenty-first Century Economies: A Proposal (in English). Robin Hahnel. Professor Emeritus at American University where he taught Political Economy for thirty-three years, and is currently Visiting Professor of Economics at Portland State University. He is best known as co-creator along with Michael Albert of an economic model known as “participatory economics” which is widely discussed as an alternative to capitalism (PARECON).

-7.45 p.m. General debate and conclusions

Friday 16th April. Anarchist collectivization during the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 (I)

-4p.m. Historical background and social aspects of the Civil War. Paco Madrid. Historian.

-5.15p.m. Face to face against the state: the 1936 revolution and agrarian collectivism in Catalonia. Marciano Cárdaba. Historian. Researcher in the social, economic and political factors of agrarian collectivization in Catalonia (1936-1939).

-6.30p.m. Collectivist transformations in the industry and services in Catalonia (1936-1939). Toni Castells. Historian.

-7.45p.m. General debate and conclusions

Saturday 17th April – Morning. Anarchist collectivization during the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 (II)

-10a.m. "Agrarian collectivities in Aragon (1936-1939). Between revolution and reaction." Walther L. Bernecker. Professor of the History of Spain, Portugal, and Latin-America at Friedrich Alexander University, Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany).

-11.15a.m. Coup-d’etat, war and social transformation in Andalusia and Castile (1936-1939). José Luis Gutiérrez Molina. Historian. Researcher in contemporary social history, particularly in Andalusia.

-12.30p.m. Collectivities in the Valencian Community. Ending with the typical topics. Manuel Vicent. Historian and archivist.

-1.45 p.m. General debate and conclusions

Saturday 17th April – Evening. Yugoslavia 1950-1990

-4 p.m. Unequal development as a limit to the self-management process. The Yugoslav case. Ramón Franquesa. Lecturer of World Economy at University of Barcelona (UB). Researcher in management of natural, renewable resources and on Social Economy and non-capitalist economic organization processes

-5.15p.m. The Yugoslav selfmanagement squeezed by the plan, the market and the single party : is the suppression of institutions the solution? (in English). Catherine Samary. Professor and Researcher specialist of the Yugoslav and East European transformations; activist in internationalist networks.

-6.30p.m. Yugoslav Self-Management: An Anarchist perspective (in English). Andrej Grubačić. Historian and anarchist sociologist. Researcher in the subject of anarchism and the history of the Balkans. Member of Industrial Workers of the World.

-7.45p.m. General debate and conclusions

Tuesday 20th April. Organizational models as an alternative to capitalism: anarchism and anarcho-syndicalism.

-4p.m. CNT: syndicalism for social change. Genís Ferrero. Member of the CNT Barcelona.

-5.15p.m. Libertarian organizations: Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI), Iberian Federation of Anarchist Youth (FIJA), Federation of Libertarian Students (FEL).

-6.45p.m. Uruguayan Anarchist Federation. Specific anarchism, anarchist direct action: towards the construction of the Popular Power. Mario Remedios. Secretary of Affairs of FAU. Militant of the Germinal Ateneo in the Villa Colón neighbourhood (Montevideo).

-8p.m. General debate and conclusions

Wednesday 21st April. Organizational models as an alternative to capitalism: cooperativism and municipalism.

-4p.m. Solidarity economy: the embryo of a new economy? Jordi García Jané. Cooperativist, professor and writer on subjects related to solidarity economy and social alternatives in general. -5.15p.m. Cooperatives: production, finances and consumption. Mol-Matric, Coop57, and Germinal.

-6.45p.m. Libertarian municipality on the way to self-management. Manel Aisa. Historian.Assembly of the neighbourhood of Sants. Mireia Rosselló.

-8p.m. General debate and conclusions

Thursday 22nd April. Organizational models as an alternative to capitalism: anarchism, culture and social movements.

-4p.m. House squatting and social centres. Jesús Rodríguez. Activist of the squat movement.

-5.15p.m. Libertarian Ateneo. Popular Encyclopaedic Ateneo and Libertarian Ateneo of Sants. Xavier Oller, historian and members.

-6.45p.m. Libertarian Centre of Studies: Foundation for Libertarian and Anarcho-syndicalist Studies (Barcelona), Libertarian Centre of Studies, Federica Montseny (Badalona), Libertarian Centre of Studies, Francesc Sàbat (Terrassa), Foundation Anselmo Lorenzo (Madrid). Members.

-8p.m. General debate and conclusions

Saturday 24th April – Morning. Nowadays experiences (I): Social Movements in Latin America, Chiapas y Brazil.

-10 a.m. Social movements in Latin America: you can’t fight progressivism. Raúl Zibechi. Thinker and activist, professor and researcher in social movements, journalist and international analyst for La Jornada (Mexico) and Brecha (Uruguay).

-11.15 a.m. Indigenous rebellion in Chiapas. Committee of Solidarity with the Zapatist rebellion.

-12.30p.m. Landless Workers Movement from Brazil, the struggle for land, Agrarian Reform, and a fairer society. María Carballo. Anthropologist and member of the MST Support Committee of Barcelona since 1996.

-13.45. General debate and conclusions

Saturday 24th April – Evening. Nowadays experiences (II): Argentina, Venezuela and Greece

-4p.m. From crisis to self-management: origins and perspectives of the recovery of firms in Argentina. Luis Buendía. Economist and pre-doctoral researcher at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), and member of the Institute of Economic and Self-management Sciences (ICEA).

-5.15p.m. Imperialism, social reform and popular power in Venezuela. Luis Baños. Libertarian militant active in organizational, education and popular struggle processes in the rural environment and the city. Historian and member of the Institute of Economic and Self-management Sciences (ICEA).

-6.30p.m. Tracking down social antagonism and anarchist-antiauthoritarian movement in Greece. Anarchist companions from Greece.

-7.45p.m. General debate and conclusions

-8.15p.m. End of the program. CNT Barcelona

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-BARCELONA:

ANARCHA-FEMINIST CONFERENCE:

This March 8 marks International Womens' Day and this year marks the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, the anarcho-syndicalist CNT of Spain. It is thus quite appropriate that this weekend will signal the start of a month long anarcha-feminist conference in the heartland of international anarchism, Barcelona. The following is the announcement from the CNT Centennary Commission. The English language version below comes from the Anarkismo website.

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Barcelona: Anarcha-Feminist Conference
Martha Ackelsberg, Ana Sigüenza, Antonia Rodrigo, the Colectivo Juana Julia Guzmán from Colombia, Mujeres Libres... just some of the participants in this festival of feminism and anarchism organized by the CNT in Barcelona in March. [Castellano]

Barcelona: Anarcha-Feminist Conference

This year - 2010 - the CNT celebrates 100 years since it was founded, in a context very different from today's. For this reason, we want to analyze and reflect on the path that this class-struggle union has followed throughout its history and examine its role today. There is no doubt that the people who have been members of the CNT have mostly been women and men with a capacity for critical thought, sometimes well ahead of their time, and there have been times when the CNT has played a vital role, as in the social revolution of 1936. Today we ask ourselves how it sees itself as a union that fights against every form of authority, and especially against something as important as patriarchy which, along with capitalism, inhibits the freedom of many living beings and is destroying the planet.

So, this Feminist Conference arise from the need of various female members of the CNT to visualize the vital role that women play in the anarchist movement, to reflect on the connection between anarchism and feminism, to challenge traditional gender roles, female and male, on which patriarchy are based.

The Conference on Women and Anarchism will be an opportunity to get closer to the realities of female militancy. We intend to analyze, discuss and highlight the participation and organization of women who identify with libertarian principles without giving up their gender identity. We want to see the problems that affect us as women in the various areas where we operate: labour, educational, organizational, health, emotional, etc., and the problems arising from a patriarchal and capitalist society such as ours that affects us and our comrades, male and female alike.

To this end, we will try to deal with the subject on two levels: one level is our own situation as female workers and union activists in a class-struggle, revolutionary and libertarian union, covering the historical perspective and the needs that we see today. The second level is feminist women's participation in the various organizations that seek to contribute to social change. We are interested in highlighting these daily struggles, the projects that result from them, the difficulties that exist and the contradictions that we encounter. We also wish to work on these aspects by collecting multiple experiences from the past and others that are in progress today all over the world.

To try to cover these objectives, we have organized five topics:

1. Women, work and the union

2. A historical reference: the Mujeres Libres

3. Anarcho-feminism: organized women

4. Women in the press and propaganda of The Idea

5. Sexual diversity and anarchism.

Everyone is invited to participate in these reflections on our/your part so that we can try to get closer to achieving our/your utopian society.

Let our thoughts become action.
PROGRAM

- Saturday 6 March 11.00 a.m.

Women and Anarcho-syndicalism: with Ana Sigüenza (first Secretary General of the CNT) and Laura Vicente (Doctor of Contemporary History at the University of Alicante), author of "Teresa Claramunt. Pionera del feminismo obrerista anarquista".

Venue: Centre Cívic Drassanes - Sala d'Actes. C/Nou de la Rambla 43. ( L-3: Liceu, Drassanes ó Paralel).

- Sunday 7 March 5.00 p.m.

Workshop - Self-managing our health (women-only event - prior registration required: libertariascnt@hotmail.com )

Venue: Casa de la Solidaridad. C/Vistalegre, 15. ( L-2: Sant Antoni)

- Wednesday 10 March 7.00 p.m.

Cine forum: "Adrift (by casual women workers)" Authors: precarias a la deriva.

Venue: Espai Obert. C/Violant d'Hongria 71, 1º. ( L-5: Plaça de Sants i Badal; L-3: Plaça del Centre)

- Friday 12 Marzo 7.00 p.m.

Anarcho-feminist Theory & Practice, with La Katino Anarkista (member of the Red Anarcofeminista de Mujeres and creator of the publication "Alejandra") and Vanessa Ortíz, from the Juana Julia Guzmán collective (Bogota).

Venue: Fundació d'Estudis Llibertaris i Anarcosindicalistes - FELLA. C/Joaquin Costa 34. ( L-3: Catalunya ó L-1 i L-2 Universitat).

- Saturday 13 March 5.00 p.m.

Anarchist women propagandizing The Idea, with María Ángeles García Maroto, anarcho-feminist journalist and writer, member of the Alcoi SOV, and Antonina Rodrigo, writer, author of the book "Amparo Poch y Gascón, médica y anarquista".

Presentation of feminist publications. RAG (Ireland), Herstory (Barcelona), Histeria (Barcelona), Mujeres Preokupando 8 (Barcelona) and others...

Venue: Centre Cívic Pati Llimona. C/Regomir 3. ( L-3: Liceu ó L-4 Jaume I).

- Sunday 14 March 5.00 p.m.

Feminist self-defence workshop. Organized by a Barcelona self-defence group (women-only event - prior registration required: libertariascnt@hotmail.com ).

Venue: Casa de la Solidaridad. C/Vistalegre, 15. ( L-2: Sant Antoni)

- Friday 19 March 7.00 p.m.

Animal liberation, liberation of the land and liberation of women. Natalia, Maria, Isabella and Clara.

Venue: Espai Obert. C/Violant d'Hongria 71, 1º. ( L-5: Plaça de Sants i Badal; L-3: Plaça del Centre)

- Saturday 20 March 5.00 p.m.

Mujeres Libres, yesterday and today, with Martha Ackelsberg, professor of Political Science and Women's & Gender Studies at Smith College, Northampton, MA (USA) and author of "Free Women of Spain: Anarchism and the Struggle for the Emancipation of Women", together with comrades from the Mujeres Libres in Extremadura and Madrid.

Venue: CCCB – Aula 2. C/ Montalegre, 5 ( L-3: Catalunya ó L-1 i L-2 Universitat).

- Friday 26 March 7.00 a.m.

Gender, race and class. Carla.

Venue: Espai Obert. C/Violant d'Hongria 71, 1º. ( L-5: Plaça de Sants i Badal; L-3: Plaça del Centre)

- Saturday 27 March 11.00 a.m.

Sexual Diversity and anarchism: debate organized by D-género, a pro-sexual liberation libertarian collective from Madrid, Karolina, Filipo Brenda and Maricarmen.

Venue: Centre Cívic Barceloneta. C/Conreria 1 – 9. ( L-4: Barceloneta).

* Workshops are for women only. Prior registration is required - write to: libertariascnt@hotmail.com . Dates for the workshops are subject to change, and in this case participants will be advised by email. Further workshops may be organized if the maximum number of participants is exceeded.

Organized by:
Comisión del CeNTenario (Barcelona)

English translation by FdCA-International Relations Office
Related Link: http://www.cnt.es/centenario

SPAIN:


BARCELONA TRANSIT STRIKE- SQUATTERS MAKE COMMON CAUSE WITH BUS DRIVERS:


Sometimes things go as they should. For the last few months the bus drivers in the city of Barcelona Spain have held a series of rotating strikes for better working conditions and wages. The driving force behind these strikes is the anarcho-syndicalist CGT. It is also supported by the other anarcho-syndicalist union in Spain, the CNT. I orginally saw the following article on the Québec platformist site Voix de Faits. It was originally published at the site of Jura Libertaire in France. The French language originals are available at either site. Basically the story is about how anarchist squatters have overcome their prejudices, at least in one city, and made common cause with working class struggles.


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When squatters give to the class struggle!

Recall some facts: in Sants, an autonomous squat still resists Capital: Can it live.
… A Squat in May 1997 by young communists it has become a reference point in the autonomous struggles in Barcelona, a tasty mixture of separatists and anarchists…





But in 2007 a complaint was lodged by the owner of the property which is none other than the public transport authority TMB Barcelona (Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona). On 22 January the trial took place, and it was finally won by squatters on 1 February 2008.




But since October 2007 the workers of the TMB have been struggling. These are the drivers of the buses in Barcelona (about 3000) who demand 2 days off per week. The conflict is being conducted by an assembly of workers who decide to follow up their fight. That is to say, a struggle not by unions but by the workers themselves.





And, there are many unions at the TMB: the enterprise committee is composed of 27 union representatives: 5 UGT and 5 CC.OO (FO kind of or CFDT)(more like the French CGT, controlled by the remants of the PCE- the Communist Party of Spain-Molly), 5 SIT (corporatist in the pay of the bosses) 5 ACTUB ( combative corporatist ), 7 CGT (separate branch of the Spanish CNT(actually a TOTALLY separate anarcho-syndicalist union from the CNT, and the largest in Spain-Molly) anarchosyndicalist, strong presence in Barcelona in transport and industry). . Yet only two unions uphold the conflict: the CGT and the ACTUB.




The simmering conflict broke out just before Christmas: 4 single-day strike followed by three others in the New Year. At this point, in light of the trial of Can Vies, contacts were formed between drivers and the squatters' struggle. Meetings bringing together various groups supporting the struggle of drivers were held in Can Vies, see the squatter press such as Contra News or the Info Usurpa for calls for active solidarity with the strikers. . The active solidarity took the form of tags throughout the city, collage of posters consisting of acts of support before the city councils in the neighbourhood, sabotage (about 200 buses damaged during different periods of the strike - tires holes, tags on the windshields or paint balls thrown at the buses operating outside the established minimum hours), participating in picketing… and panel discussions in the squats with bus drivers (Can Vies, Blokes Fantasma, at the Ateneu Popular 'Aixample, Teixidora, Revoltosa and lots of others that I forget).





The highlight came after the victory of Can Vies. The district Sants began a campaign: we won the case and now we are going to win the two days rest per week. On February 9, 5000 people marched through the streets of Barcelona in solidarity with bus drivers who were on strike. Including many squatters distributed behind the independence signs or even the CNT Can Vies.




. And the struggle continues. opinion… Management does not bend, and persists in signing declarations of war against the strikers, sending police to escort the buses at the garage exit, charges and detention of two drivers, a defamatory press campaign (articles as "escalation of violence "), a counter-propaganda campaign by the company to isolate the strikers and influence public opinion… . Yet drivers not yield. After another week of a strike in early March (from 3 to 7 March) they continue to strike every Thursday. And even though 50 of them were punished for actions of sabotage and, as if by chance ,10 of the 11 delegates to the assembly workers were amongst them.
More info on the blog of the assembly of drivers.

Today (Sept 25) in History:
1868: Michael Bakunin and friends establish the 'International Alliance of Social Democracy' as a splinter group at the meeting of the 'League for Peace and Freedom' in Berne Switzerland.
1870: The Marseilles Commune announces the abolition of the state and all debt.
1919: Anarchists, in cooperation with Left Socialist Revolutionaries, bomb the Moscow headquarters of the Communist Party in response to continued repression and murder of members of both the anarchists and the Left SRs on the part of the Bolsheviks. A job done poorly as the Communists later go on to slaughter 25 million ordinary Russians once the supply of political opponents runs out.
1960: Fourth Conference of the Situationalist International. Besides adopting the "Statement on Madness' they spend their everyday life in electing a central committee.
1962" US backed coup in the Dominican Republic overthrows mildly leftist president Juan Bosch.
1977:Anti-apartheid organizer Steven Biko is buried in South Africa after being murdered by the police during detention. A little quote from Steve,
"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."
1999: The 'Friends of the Modern School', a collection of alumni and others meet at Rutger's University. The Modern School movement was founded in many countries after the judicial murder of Francisco Ferrer (Jan 10, 1859-Oct. 12, 1909) by the authorities in Barcelona. He was falsely accused of being part of a "plot" during the 'Semana Tragica' in Catalonia that year. The events of the 'Tragic Week' led to the creation of the Spanish CGT. For more on Ferrer see http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bright/ferrer/ferrer.html . For more on the American Modern School Movement see 'A History of the Stelton Modern School' at http://www.talkinghistory.org/stelton/stelton.html and 'The Modern School Collection' at http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/libs/scua/modern_school/modern.shtml .
As a little aside on a past visit to Barcelona I discovered the monument to Ferrer on the way up to Montjuis. It's a little bit damaged but still standing after decades of Francoism. It has an appropriate anti-clerical quote on its base. Modern Barcelona; where public transportation hubs have been named after anarchist Juan Peiro and there is an 'Avenida Durruti'. The Catalans have named their Olympic Stadium after Companys, but they aren't above adding anarchist names in their nose thumbing at the government in Madrid.
2006:Nothing at all happened today. Time to go to sleep already.
Molly

Last Minute Plus One Dept.
"Yesterday" in History ie Sept. 23rd
480: Battle of Salamis. Original "clash of civilizations". One pita awarded to those who guess the winner. That'll teach them Ayatollahs.
1779: The beginning of 'Post Modernism'. US Naval Commander John Paul Jones of the ship Bonhomme Richard takes major damage during the early battle against the British ship Serapis. The British commander, Richard Pearson, asks him if he has "struck his colours" ie surrendered. Jones replies, "Well, that depends on what your definition of "is" is. " Jones later goes on to win the engagement. Patron saint for numerous American academics.
1818: Percy Bysshe Shelley's 'The Masque of Anarchy' first published. But does it rhyme ?
1864: The IWMA association (the First International) founded in London during a solidarityh meeting for a Polish uprising. Unfortunately infested with "the tapeworm of socialism" (guess who ?) from birth.
1881: Founding Congress of the Federacion de Trabahadores de la Region Espanola (dates Sept. 23- 26) in Barcelona. Forerunner of the CNT.
1895: Founding convention of the French CGT in Limognes. Originally syndicalist. Infested by the "tapeworm's eggs" several years later.
1908:Manifesto of the Junta of the Partido Liberal de Mexico (Mexican Liberal Party), anarchist despite the name.
1930: Birthday of Ray Charles, jazz and soul great. No tapeworms him.
1930: Sigmund Freud enters the unconscious. Not very "complex" at all.
1950: Congress overrides US President Truman's veto and passes the McCarron Internal Security Act' requiring registration of members of groups deemed to be communist fronts by the attorney general and establishing "emergency concentration camps". Most victims fail to quote John Paul Jones as to "Well, it depends on what your definition of "was" was". Too bad.
1955: Jury in Sumner MI acquits Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam of the murder of 14 year old black child Emmett Till even though they admitted kidnapping him. The "out" was the fact that the body was in a state of advanced decomposition that "precluded positive identification". Perhaps there were too many stray bodies around.
1963: Margaret Faas-Hardegger (1882- 1963) dies. German anarchist romantically linked with Gustav Landauer and Erich Muhsam. Also friends with Fritz Brupbachert and Gertrad Wiker. Established anarchist communist community in Minusio in 1912.
1994: The final credits for American horror writer Robert Bloch. When asked why he wrote horror fiction he replied, "I have the heart of a small boy...I keep it in a drawer at home."
That's all. Make sure to keep your file drawers in order. "H" is for both heart and horror.